Posts Tagged ‘supreme Court’

The Demise of America

Sunday, July 4th, 2010

The Demise of America

Gary Hunt
July 4, 2010 (and the 234th year of our Independence)

 [Note: I would like to acknowledge the assistance of Trey Tasker for review and editing this article.]

Where we began

America!  Just what is America?  Well, for a few centuries, it was the ideal of individual freedom and prosperity.  It was the hallmark of self-government, and it was the ultimate salvation of two major efforts of world conquest.  It was the deciding factor in both world wars, and was the refuge for those oppressed, elsewhere.  It was, for all intents and purposes, a great experiment that had proven itself over all other forms of government and a foundation of moral values, which, un-retarded, had provided a commitment to the rest of the world for aid in achieving similar prosperity, freedom, and moral value.

America is an overreaching name for what is, geographically, just another country in the world of countries, though it was also the name that applied to a Union of countries that had joined, for better, or for worse, to achieve those goals set out by the Founders, some 220 years ago.  America was manifest in the United States of America.  It was and remains that which is otherwise unachievable in other nations of the world.

A thorough study of the history of the United States will demonstrate, to all, that it had, after its inception, surpassed all expectations in establishing itself amongst the nations of the world as a formidable force with which to be reckoned.

Within 36 years of its separation from Great Britain, it had achieved the means of defending itself against the most powerful imperial power in the world.

Within the first century of its existence, it went through a tumultuous period of civil war, though it managed to avoid the separation, or change of government, that would otherwise have been the result of that upheaval.

Within just over a century, it had attained a position of esteemed prominence in the world of industry.

Within 150 years, it had become the economic center of the world whose dollar became the exchange currency most acceptable among the other nations of the world.

Looking back from the challenges of today, the questions that haunt us are:

1.  Has America lost its values — its moral compass — and those many aspects, as set forth by our Founders, that had set it out as a model to the remainder of the world?

2.  Has it outgrown its usefulness both to the people who call themselves Americans, as well as those who look, from afar, and envy that which was?

3.  If so, what has lead to the demise of that image of a better life, or, was it just the imagination of those who proclaimed its nature, for those two hundred years?

Political Correctness

Freedom of Speech is probably the most important and absolutely necessary enumerated right in the Bill of Rights.  The ability to express oneself, both to others and to the government, is fundamental in a country that is composed of self-governed people.

That freedom allows us to express ourselves to others, but also to ourselves.

So, what happened when the means by which we express our thoughts, concerns, ideas, beliefs, and, secrets, is curtailed, by any means, at all?

Let’s look at how this works.  Suppose you have had a religious upbringing, and a morality founded upon that belief.  You understand that heterosexual relationships are the only morally acceptable form of relationship.  You were raised understanding that homosexuals were immoral, and the idea of two people of the same sex having relations together was repugnant.  There was another word, a slang word that was used by most people including homosexuals, which was a reference to that type of relationship.  The word was “queer”, yet it was not necessarily derogatory.  After all, it meant odd, curious, or unexpected.  There is little doubt that the definitions fit, when compared with what was presumed to be the proper moral relationship.

Of course, the term “queer”, being odd, was indicative of someone who was not up to par with the morality and, as such, tended to exclude them from the acceptable norm.

Now, what if there was a concerted effort to abolish the terms queer and homosexual, through a policy of what is known as “political correctness”?  The substitute term would be “gay”, meaning light hearted, brightly colored, or carefree.  Under the social, political, and, in some cases, legal pressure, you succumb to the new phrase for what was considered immoral, not to very long ago.  You accept and use the term.  Over time, your mind follows that implied change in the character and nature of the word, and what used to be unacceptable, or immoral, behavior, has, both in the spoken word, and in your mind, attained a degree of respectability that, without political correctness, would never have been achieved.

Before long, you have adjusted your moral values to accepting what you knew to be unacceptable, though you are not sure just how that change occurred.

Another word that has come into common usage, though is now defined differently than it was, just a few decades ago, is “hate”.  Hate is defined a number of ways, such as, dislike intensively, or a strong distaste.  Often, hate is defined as the opposite of love.

Hate, however, need not have, and in most cases, at least in the past had, no connotation of violence.  Violence stood all by itself.

Recently, however, hate has changed from dislike of liver, or distaste from immoral behavior, to an adjective that is applied to certain crimes of violence, with the intention of providing more serious penalties, under certain conditions, usually unilaterally.  We have accepted this definition so that certain portions of our society are afforded more protection, under the law, than others, regardless of the extent, and, often, regardless of the cause of a violent act.  As a result, we have allowed ourselves to believe that crime perpetrated against some members of our society are worse than the same crime being perpetrated against other members of our society.

In both of the above examples, we have withheld our (freedom of) speech to avoid offending.  As a result, we have managed to allow our minds to be manipulated into accepting things that we clearly knew to be untrue.

By subtle manipulation, we are having our fundamental right of freedom of speech transformed into behavioral manipulation, a form of social engineering, and, consequently, a very serious encroachment upon that sacred right.

Education

A number of advocates promoted public Education, early on in the formation of this country.  Probably the most well known advocate would be Thomas Jefferson.

Jefferson has given us many quotations of his belief in the necessity of public education, and each will engender the consideration of the effect of the absence of education upon the morality, prosperity (of the community), politics and the necessity for the people to understand, and then, approve or disapprove that actions of the government.

Public Education, however, predates Jefferson.  In the Cape Cod area, for example, an annual tribute of fish was contributed to pay for the services of a teacher, available to all of the children, as compensation for his services.

However, after the formation of the new country, the United States of America, the promotion of public education was left to the county or other entity, at the local level.  It wasn’t until after the Civil War that the idea really took hold and the literacy rates of the population began to increase.

Very probably, the long war, the destruction of property and lives, was instrumental in the desire to assure that the population could consider all aspects of political decisions, so that their affirmation of the actions of government would be based upon being sufficiently educated so as to be able to properly judge those actions.

The following is from the Department of Commerce data, and reflects the literacy rate (of the white population) from 1860 through 1979.

Year                   White Literacy Rate
1870                   88.5
1880                   90.6
1890                   92.3
1900                   93.8
1910                   95
1920                   96
1930                   97
1940                   98
1947                   98.2
1950                   No data
1952                   98.2
1959                   94.4
1969                   99.3
1979                   99.6

Note that there was a continual progression of literacy from 1870 through 1947.  After the creation of the federal Department of Education, in 1953, we see a shift in education from the Public School System, which had achieved so much, over the previous century, to both federal and state entities.  We also see a shift in the upward rates of literacy.

During this period, we were experiencing a rapid growth in population, what would eventually be style the “Baby Boomers”.  These children, the byproduct of the attitude that prevailed after the victories of World War II, did put an increasing demand upon the educational resources, during that period from 1947 to 1952.  It also removed the traditional, and, demonstrably successful, method of education that had brought us what was later described as the “greatest Generation”, all of whom were educated under the former system of Public Schools.

With the intrusion of the federal government, as well as the state governments, replacing the decision making from the local School Board, whose interest was of the ability to educate the children of their own community, to the centralized, political and bureaucratic control of education, by those quite distant from what the needs, abilities, and resources of the community were, also provided a new means of measuring literacy.

Under the new guidelines for the determination of literacy, as it has evolved to the present time, the schools will teach, primarily, that information which is necessary to pass the competence (literacy) test created to measure the ability of the schools to educate our children.  Any education beyond the purpose of proving competence is secondary.

Arts, science, history, and many other areas of discipline have been subordinated to the effort directed to passing tests in which the answers have become the primary curriculum.

It has become abundantly clear that the average product of the government school system is, functionally, illiterate, though the statistics, revised to prove the efficacy of the centralized control of education, will prove to the contrary.

This deals strictly with education, though it does not deal, at all, with the morality, ideology, history, nature of government and the heritage of this once great nation.  Can we assume that the desired effect of the educational system has been achieved when, for the most part, the educational system has become a tool for government propaganda and the reduction of the average education to one of rote and compliance?

Is it in our best interest to put into the hands of those who would enslave us, the education of our children?  Or, should that responsibility be placed back in our own hands.

Religion

Those who first peopled the shores of America in the early Seventeenth Century were fleeing religious prosecution in Europe.  As they established themselves on those hostile foreign shores, they established equally sectarian societies from those that they had fled.  They were, however, more than willing to share the land with others and only endeavored to impose their religious sanctions on those in their immediate communities.

Originally, they were left alone, by the mother country, and allowed to practice as they saw fit.  Over time, however, the Church of England began imposing the tenets of that Church in many communities, effecting the government of entire colonies.  Other religions were allowed to practice, though all paid tribute to the master Church.

A turning point came in the late Eighteenth Century when the ties that had held the colonies to their mother, England, were severed.  The mother Church was allowed to continue, though it was relegated to the same authority as all of the other churches in the country.

Though all religions were allowed to be practiced, even Mohametism, the moral values of the country were firmly established in the Judeo-Christian ethic.  It was the foundation of the laws, the spirit and the prosperity that flowed from the people to make America a symbol of good and righteousness to the world.

It was the moral values that flowed from that religious source that inspired the courage, strength, and commitment, to enter two world wars, which tipped the balance of power and allowed the defensive powers to prevail against the aggressors.

America has, through its entire history, recognized the role of God in its foundations, establishments, and history.  Religious quotations are inscribed on most of the government, both state and federal, buildings built in its first two centuries.  Moses and the Ten Commandments are prominently displayed, many times, on the Supreme Court Building.  Prayers open every session of Congress and our currency bears a prominent “In God We Trust”.

More recently, however, those religious virtues have fallen to evil forces that are endeavoring to undermine the moral values and principles upon which that nation was founded.  And, it is coming from an area least expected.  It is coming through education — academia, and being fed to that country’s posterity, without the consent of the parents, and, as insidiously as if the Church of England were back in control of education, morality, and law.

Of course, it is couched in an innocuous term, evolution.  The term, however, permeates that society on levels that most have never even considered.  In ‘public’ schools, which used to utilize the Bible as a means of teaching reading, and, following the example of Congress, opened each school day with prayer.

In 1852, a forty-one year old Charles Darwin published “On the Origin of Species”.  It was, then, a theory put forth by Darwin that all life evolved from a single cell, which was formed by an accident.  Of course, Darwin knew nothing of DNA, or he may have reconsidered the complexity of a single cell — and its chance of creation.

Today, however, this “theory” has had no advancement, yet it is espoused by the academic community, the scientific community, and the courts (who no longer provide a Bible for swearing in).  They accept the “theory” of evolution over the accepted principle of creation, which now, in deference to the campaign against it, goes by the name of “Intelligent Design”.

The proponents of evolution call intelligent design a theory.  They claim that it is unsubstantiated and that no proof exists supporting the existence of God.  They advance their theories on the foundation of scientific proof that evolution is the means by which life, and man, came into being.  They have, through massive campaigns, removed that which was, Creationism, from the classroom, from the government (where it had comfortably resided for two centuries) and the search for the source of life, science.

The Evolutionists can best explain the effect, especially in the classroom, themselves.  Most will proclaim that they did once believe in God and were raised religiously, though upon their study of evolution, they determined that there is no God, so they became atheists.  Though, perhaps, not scientifically provable, they have laid claim to the proof of the lack of the existence of God to be a direct result of their studies.

They have created, by academic denial for those who believe in Intelligent Design, through establishing curriculum absent any mention of Intelligent Design, through refusal to consider Intelligent Design in any scientific research, and by pursuing legislative restriction on the discussion of Intelligent Design, an environment which is void of such teaching, or even the consideration of Intelligent Design, voiding the minds of our youth of any consideration of those sources of Providence to which the people, and this nation, owe so much.

Absent religion, which provides a moral foundation, we can expect that morality will become as individualistic and varied as the number of people in that country.  Situational ethics — doing what feels right — is becoming the morality of America, and, though not scientific, by any means, is best demonstrated by the very obvious changes in morality (out of wedlock birth rates, divorce, homosexuality, pedophilia, etc.) in recent decades.

The decline in morality and virtue is indicative of the failure of a society.  It loses its moral fiber that binds people together, its commonality, and its very binding sprit, which will, eventually, lead to its demise.

The final point to be made, here, is that the government has chosen to dictate what cannot be said from the pulpit, which has had sufficient impact upon the preaching of immorality.

Immigration

Immigration can be one of many lifebloods of a nation.  In the case of the United States, that lifeblood began flowing more than 350 years before the birth of that nation.  Immigrants from Europe came for many reasons, though most commonly, to practice their Christian faith, without obedience to a state/church government.  This Freedom of Religion, though restricted by community, was not restrictive to the practice of religion, as each saw fit.

Through those first few hundred years, the Anglican Church, from England, held absolute sway, in some of the colonies.  Other religions may have been allowed, by tithes (taxes) were paid to the Anglican Church for distribution only to the Anglican churches.

After the founding of the United States, religious freedom was guaranteed to all, and embodied in the Bill of Rights.  For those, then, and their posterity, the freedom of religion (absence of laws restricting the practice of religion) became assured for generations to come.

Time, however, and the lust for power in government (fear of opposition) generated a subtle change that would begin to diminish this significant right (birthright) of Americans.

It began with the simple gift of tax-exemption for churches.  With the imposition of taxes, which are questioned by many as even being constitutional, any organization requesting exemption from those taxes must file with the government claiming status as a religious, not for profit, corporation.

This, by itself, had no effect on the ability of the church to preach sermons that might favor a candidate, or a policy.  But, over time, those who controlled the purse strings wrote into the laws that the churches, in order to maintain their tax exemption, could not support candidates or policies, unless the government turned their back.  This meant that preaching could include support for anything that the government wanted, but excluded any sermon that would undermine the authority of government, by removing that exemption.

Churches were left to abandon any sermon, regardless of how well founded in scripture that was in opposition to government policy.  Morality had become subject to the approval of the government.  Consequently, church corporations began voting, by whatever form that had chosen, to abandon doctrines that were fundamental to their scriptures.

Few, however, have been willing to challenge the illegitimacy of such incursions into the practice of religion, though most of them are fully aware that sermons preached within the laws of the time (under British rule) offered no such limitation on the exercise of religion.

With banner held high, “Freedom of Religion”, we continue to accept that government is, as required by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, protecting that fundamental element of a person, and a nation’s, morality.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing and other industries were major elements in achieving prosperity, and attaining the recognition as the greatest industrial power on the earth.

In the Nineteenth Century, the availability of natural resources; open land; desire for expansion and settlement of those open lands; and the free market (uncontrolled by government) became the means by which that prosperity was achieved.

Industry was able to find a market place for its goods.  The availability of resources was unlimited, allowing for rates of production to meet demands.  Absence of governmental involvement gave a free hand for the free market to develop plants, seek new markets, and innovate new products, beyond anything the world had beheld before.  Tens of thousands of miles of railroad connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and Canada to Mexico.  Each new mile added additional resources, land for settlement, and profit, which returned to expand the network, even further.

Innovation created new machinery for harvesting of crops, reducing manpower, and increasing productivity in the bread belt, thereby providing more than ample supplies of food to the growing nation.

Innovation also developed new methods of manufacturing, which would continue to lead the way in production, for decades to come.

At the beginning of the Twentieth Century, war encompassed the world.  The geographic isolation allowed product supplies to be increased to meet the demands of wartime goods.  Though our participation in WWI was not immediate, eventually, the spirit, ingenuity, and individualism that had lead to that prosperity provided an American fighting force that turned the tide of that war.

Just a few decades later, another war encompassed the world.  The productivity of that industrial giant was able to produce goods, and transport them across the seas, at a rate that was unachievable by all of the other countries, individually AND combined.  Once again, the American fighting force was the turning point in the war.

The demands of this second war had produced production lines incomparable to anything that preceded it.  Plants that produced toys were converted to the manufacture of weapons, within weeks.  Means were developed to adapt to any demand, and the production facilities went undamaged by war, providing a prosperity, post-war, that was later defined as the American Dream.

To this point in time, a philosophy of “A Good Product at a Fair Price” was the motivation, both in and out of war, to produce.  America was second to none in industry, and more than willing to share its knowledge and resources to rebuild the damaged countries resulting from that war — even the enemy’s country were rebuilt and their industry re-established, mostly along the lines of what America hand learned in the century preceding.

About this time, and in order to aid another country’s recovery, a practice of contracting foreign industry to produce certain goods lead to the denigration of a product by referencing the country or origin, “Made in Japan”.  These products, for the most part, were low profit, easily made, and required little technical ability to produce.

Over the next few decades, Industry continued to prosper, however, the philosophy shifted from “A Good Product…” to what became known as “the bottom line” mentality.

As a consequence, many of the industrial machines were produced, under contract to foreign nations, and then returned to the United States bearing the name of a United States corporation.  The same foreign manufactures also manufactured the same products for sale through different distribution systems, bearing their name, even though the products were otherwise identical.

Most of the raw materials (natural resources) to manufacture these products were mined in the United States, transported across Canada to Pacific ports, shipped overseas in foreign vessels, processed, manufactured to finished products, and then returned to the United States on foreign vessels.  Amazingly, these products would be for sale at less cost than they could be manufactured here.

One of the reasons for this gross disparity in cost of production was the proliferation of unions, demanding higher wages, more benefits, and job security, and, often, limiting production rates to ease the burden on the worker.

The government, by the end of World War II, legislated in favor of these unions, without regard to the consequences, and by venturing where the Constitution did not authorize them to go.

This fueled the fires of profit, at any cost, to the point that became destructive to American industry.  Quite the opposite of “protective tariffs”, the new course was actually beneficial both by support of unions and reduction of tariffs (e.g. Most Favored Nation status), resulting in the decimation of American industry.

Currently, less than 10% of the manufactured goods in the marketplace are made in this country, though they may well bear American names, such as Ford, General Electric, and Motorola.

Absent foreign imports, whether with, or without American names, our lives would approach third world status, unable to obtain goods for everyday household chores, workplace tools, and even industrial equipment.  Even obscure countries produce more for their own consumption than does America.

In less than one hundred years, we have gone from the apex of industry to a country almost void of industrial production.  We have become dependent for our daily lives upon those who may, at some time in the future, become our enemies.

Dependency

Dependency, by its very nature, makes one subordinate to that upon which it depends.  Children are dependent upon their parents, until they have reached an age and the competence in which they can depend upon themselves — independence.

Employees are dependent on their employers to provide both the wages that they earned, and a marketplace for the product that they provide, so that money is available for such wages.  Employers, in turn, are dependent upon the performance of their employees to provide quality products and services.

Governments are dependent upon their citizens to provide the guidance (by whatever means the construction of the government is based upon), and for revenue (again, based upon those means provided) for the operation of that government.

In turn, the citizens of a nation are dependent upon the government (in the case of the United States) for the protection of life, liberty, and property.

What happens when the government — the society — for which it is obliged to provide the means to protect, becomes dependent upon another government, or country, to assure that the means of daily living can be obtained in order for that society to survive?

If the government, for any reason, especially after having fully demonstrated that these means are readily available within the country, legislates in such a manner as to reduce, or even remove, those means, requiring that the society is now dependent upon another country for its daily means, has it transferred the primary responsibility for its citizens to another country — and government?

Has it, by these means, dissolved its entire purpose — in subordination to foreign interests?

Is it possible that the country which has relied upon its government to secure those means, by abrogating its responsibility, has destroyed the government and relegated its citizens to the mercy of the whims of another country?

We remain fully capable of providing some aspects of life, such as medicine, weapons of war and destruction, and a relentless line of politicians more than willing to reduce us, even further, into dependency upon others.

Catastrophic is an understatement of the effect, both short and long term that this transfer of dependence will have upon us.

Tradition

Every nation in the world is steeped in tradition.  Those traditions, whether good or bad in the eyes of outsiders, are a binding force in that nation’s culture and are necessary so that the longevity, coherence, and perpetuation of that culture to continue.  Absent that background, it is nothing less than a new nation without a foundation, course, or future.

The longstanding traditions of the United States have come under attack, recently, undermining the very fabric of that nation granted, by Providence (yes, that is a substantial part of the tradition), to the people who settled, then fought for the existence of it.

As the traditions are eroded away, under whatever guise might be undertaken to supplant them, so, too, is the personality, the character, the entire embodiment, of that nation.

When those traditions are eroded using the guise of the Founding papers, the Constitution, as an excuse for their erosion, the complacency of those who merely stand by and watch becomes as much of the destructive force as those who, by intent, are striving for the destruction of that nation.

Regardless of the ambitions of the latter, or the absence of objection by the former, the effect is the same.  They both allow a transition of government, as much as if conquered buy military force, though the means are far more subtle.  The intention is the same, and the result is as effective as the alternative.

Taxation

Though only a small part of what lead to the Revolutionary War, taxes, as they have through history, have become the means by which people are most often oppressed.

The French-Indian Wars had taken an economic toll on England.  Generally, the coffers of government are maintained, absent war, by a relatively small tax, intended to replace the debt incurred by war.  This was the case with the Stamp Act, in 1765.  In order to replenish the treasury, taxes were laid on the colonies.  This, along with the removal of charter government (See The End of the Revolution and the Beginning of Independence) incited sufficient concern in the colonists to begin down the pathway that, eventually, lead to separation from England.

The intention, as had been the practice, even under British rule, was to restore the Treasury and then to remove the taxes, with the need for replenishment no longer being necessary.

That practice served America quite well, during its first nearly two centuries.  The taxes imposed during World War II were in the single digit percentages, and the tax that had been imposed was, originally, imposed only for the duration of the war.

Instead, and by the time the America attempted to accomplish, in Vietnam, what the French had failed to achieve, the government had raised taxes, and they had become a way of life.  Twenty percent of income, or more, was the norm, nearly seven times greater, on all income, than the 3% taxes, only on certain items, that had roused the anger of the colonists.

Government had determined that they could maintain near perpetual war, if they were able to provide a constant and permanent flow of revenue, never allowing the coffers to be depleted.

Their President, Dwight Eisenhower, in 1961, in his Farewell Address, provided insight into what he had seen as a threat to the future of America, when he said, “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.  The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”

He realized that the “economic favors” bestowed upon those who made weapons of war, by the government who benefited, in one way or another, from perpetual war, was a danger to what our country stood for.

Leadership

The leadership in this country is recognized by that title, but have you considered what the word means?

Leaders are those who lead.  Just how do they achieve such significance that would warrant our following them?

Back in the late seventeen and early eighteen hundreds, there were many who had achieved their positions of leadership through demonstration of their ability to lead, and thereby justify our willingness to follow them.

Over the years, however, things have changed.  Now, the people that we are to follow come from a degree of obscurity.  Their respective parties, somewhere along the line, have decided that they have ‘achieved’ such prominence that they can be cast forth as leaders.  But, what criteria are used to determine that they have demonstrated their ability to lead?

Consider, if you will, that for them to garner the support of the party, they will have had to assure that the party is well satisfied with, well, their obedience to the party.  Let us take the current president of the United States.  He was obscure.  A senator from Illinois, who was nothing more than a yes man for the party.  Virtually all of his votes were on the party line, though he had something going for him:  the party, already satisfied with his obedience, determined that they could promote some aspects for their chosen candidate and convince the voters throughout the country that this man was worthy of the role of leader.  Nothing to demonstrate that he could, it is simply a matter of selling their candidate to the public.  This is accomplished by taking polls; analysis of the results; developing marketing strategies, not unlike those used to sell cereal or drugs; and, determining what people want to hear, in each region of the country, and assuring that their candidate says, in that region, what they have told him to say, in that region, and, likewise, in the other regions.  If you should have any doubts, recall what the candidates have said in the past, such as, “Read my lips, no New Taxes”, or, “I will have a transparent government.”

In the end, better leaders can probably be found by looking in your local community rather than looking at the television, which will bring you exactly what you want to see.

Government is designed to serve the people.  Understanding that it is impractical, and imprudent, for everybody to be involved in every decision required to be made at the top level of government, we have developed a system whereby the will of the people, through their chosen representatives, is made so, on the people’s behalf.

If you would, imagine an inverted triangle.  The base, being at the top, constitutes the people.  Below them are the representatives of the people, and at the very bottom, the point of the inverted triangle, is the President of the United States.  His purpose, according to the Constitution, is the chief executive of the country.  His job, then, is to carry out the will of the people (top of the triangle), as expressed through their representatives (middle of the triangle).  He is the lowest man on the triangle, and his job is to work for us, on our behalf.

For whatever reason, perhaps an inadequacy in the educational system, we have learned to accept the triangle in the wrong configuration.  We have allowed that the President is at the top of the triangle, master of all.  Below him is the Congress, our representatives, making decisions that are both contrary to, and against our will.  Finally, at the bottom, are we, the people, who find ourselves forced into obedience to the government, and, paying all the bills that they can accumulate, while attempting to tell us that what they are doing is in our best interest?

Where does this leave us?

Through a slow and meticulous process, events that are hardly noticed begin to have an effect on the people, and the future, by that same process, is modified in such a way that the people who have thought that they knew what freedom was, eventually, find that they are no longer free, nor are they what they thought that they were.

Those in control will exert their efforts to the point that a substantial majority will accept the conditions that they have imposed.

In time, the acceptability of what has been imposed, through these subtle means, becomes even more accepted, if not in years, in a decades or two, that which was, will be lost among the pages of history.  The newly accepted condition becomes the platform for the next generation of change, which, ultimately, will result in that which the United States was to be lost, and that which it has become to be accepted as that which always was.

When unlawful force or influence are used to undermine the obligations of government, the people subject to that government, are also slaves to that government.

This, unless we accept our responsibility of restoring that which was, will result in the Demise of America.

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Those who find this interesting might also appreciate Finding Freedom Again

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The Three Boxes

Saturday, May 29th, 2010

The Three Boxes

Gary Hunt
May 29, 2010

Often we have heard mention of the three boxes, which are the elements of our steps of assurance of the adequacy of our government.  The first box, of course, is the ballot box.  That box allows us the choice of representation of those who will enter the government, on our behalf, to assure that the government legislates within the confines of the Constitution, and to serve the purpose for which that government was created (protection of Life, Liberty and Property — see Finding Freedom Again and Let’s Talk About the Constitution).

Next, of course, is the jury box.  This box was deemed by the Founders as the ultimate arbiter on the validity of any law.  The determination of both fact and law (whether a law was just, constitutional, and the will of the people) was inherent in this process.  The ability of the jury to overturn laws inadequate to the purposes of the people has a long history from colonial times to early in the last century.

In 1732, John Peter Zenger was tried for seditious libel.  The jury overturned the law that suppressed speaking out against government.

In 1857, the Supreme Court ruled that fugitive slaves had to be returned to their owners, if found.  Juries refused to convict those who violated that law, which was eventually partially overturned by the same court, and ruled out by the 14th Amendment.

Most recently, during the era of Prohibition (the 18th Amendment, ratified in 1920 through the repeal of Prohibition by the 21st Amendment in 1933), may who were tried for possessing alcohol, or other violations of the Volstead Act were acquitted by juries, who perceived the law as a denial of liberty.

Other instances can be cited, but it is clear that the right of the jury to nullify laws is as much a part of our heritage as the right to jury trial.

The final box, of course, is the cartridge box.  This was the final resort of the Founders when the other remedies had failed to impede the encroachments of government, toward despotic and tyrannical rule.  This box, if you will, is the box of last resort.

So, let us look at the efficacy of the ballot box.  In so doing, we will only look at the election of representatives, though the Electoral College has been tailored into something that only vaguely resembles that which the Founders gave us.

The Ballot Box

George Washington, in a letter to Timothy Pickering, Jul. 27, 1795, provides the following insight into the nature of parties in the legislative branch:

“Much indeed to be regretted, party disputes are now carried to such a length, and truth is so enveloped in mist and false representation, that it is extremely difficult to know through what channel to seek it.  This difficulty to one, who is of no party, and whose sole wish is to pursue with undeviating steps a path which would lead this country to respectability, wealth, and happiness, is exceedingly to be lamented.  But such, for wise purposes, it is presumed, is the turbulence of human passions in party disputes, when victory more than truth is the palm contended for.

We must understand that in Washington’s time, parties were simply associations of like-minded people.  Party had a degree of sway, though it was not so dictatorial that it could decide who would run for office, and who would not.

What we have become, however, is subject to exclusive domination, in the political arena, to the two-party system.

Ex-President Harry Truman, on the event of his birthday, in 1954, gave us the following:

“In the first place, the President became the leader of a political party.  The party under his leadership had to be dominant enough to put him in office.  This political party leadership was the last thing the Constitution contemplated.  The President’s election was not intended to be mixed up in the hurly-burly of partisan politics.

“I wish some of those old gentlemen could come back and see how it worked.  The people were to choose wise and respected men who would meet in clam seclusion and choose a President and the runner-up would be Vice President.

“All of this went by the board-though most of the original language remains in the Constitution.  Out of the struggle and tumult of the political arena a new and different President emerged-the man who led a political party to victory and retained in his hand the power of party leadership.  That is, he retained it, like the sword Excalibur, if he could wrest it from the scabbard and wield it.

So, what has happened is that the two-party system has enacted laws that have allowed the party, not the President, though he is the leader of the party, to determine that course that our country will take.

Similarly, all those within the party must subordinate whatever ideals they may have possessed upon their entry into politics to the will of the party, itself.  This end has been achieved through manipulation of the process of election by two primary methods.

First, to run on the party ticket, one must have the blessings of the party.  Absent that blessing, or in the event that a term in office demonstrates disobedience to the will of the party, the candidate cannot find a place on the ballot.  He might, if he has attained stature in the eyes of the people, run as an independent, or he may even change party allegiance.  Absent one of the two, he will find the possibility of inclusion on the ballot, and election to office, remote.

Second, and as we all know, now, dollars equate to votes.  When a candidate has the dollars behind him, he has far greater potential for election than one who does not.  Now, if all things were equal, a potentially good candidate running for office outside of the party banner might well solicit donations that would provide a fair chance against a party candidate.  Unfortunately, for both for the candidate outside of the party and the people, the party will contribute funds, and, by other means, provide advertisement intended to sway the outcome of the election, thus providing an unfair advantage to their ‘chosen’.

So, it is clear that the two-party system has devised means to minimize competition and assure the election of one of the chosen of one of the parties.  This assures the voter that he will have a very slim chance, if any at all, to elect a candidate who will adhere to the Constitution, regardless of what promises have been made during campaign.

For all intents and purposes (“Read my lips, no new taxes”).  We are given the choice of two liars.  We will take the liar who is a candidate from the party that we have laid our hopes and dreams on, or, in some cases, the opposition.  In the former instance, we have elected “our own liars”, in the latter; we have elected the better liar.  In either eventuality, we may rest assured that the campaign promises made during the campaign were made only to solicit our vote.  They, in no way, are indicative of promises to pursue the ends described.  In fact, more than likely, they will not even be remembered, shortly after the election.

These aside, let’s look at what would happen if we were able to have a choice that included those who really intended to pursue a return to Constitutional government.  Being overly optimistic, let us assume that we could elect, in each session of Congress, 10% candidates who have our goals in common and would not succumb to political pressure while serving us.

In the next five elections (2010-2018), assuming that there were no losses, deaths or conversions, we would have 50% of those in office truly in support of the people rather than their respective parties.  With only a single vote more, we would have the ability to mandate the course of the country, though only on those matters which could be passed by a simple majority.  There are both two-thirds and three-quarters majority requirements on some matters.  These, respectively, would require four and eight more years to return control from the parties to the people.

At that point in time we could begin turning the tide and returning to Constitutional government.

How long, however, will it take to make that return?  We will have the 8 (or 12, or 16) intervening years of additionally burdensome legislation to undo, and then we could take on the task of undoing the past few decades of abuse of government.

If feasible, as presented above, it would be wholly dependent upon whether we could overcome the party politics and maintain the optimistic goal, as outlined.  Any deficiency in that progression simply compounds the problem, which, if not almost beyond redemption, now, most surely will be so with any delays in the above-proposed timeline.  [Note: the above does not even take into consideration the effect of lobbyists in promoting the interests of "special-interest" groups.]

This nearly fatal scenario, then, leads us to the Second Box.

The Jury Box

The Grand Jury and the Petit Jury have centuries of record which demonstrate their purpose and the means by which they serve the people.

First, let us see what Lysander Spooner said about the Petit jury, in an essay, “on the Trial By Jury” (1852):

“FOR more than six hundred years that is, since Magna Carta, in 1215 there has been no clearer principle of English or American constitutional law, than that, in criminal cases, it is not only the right and duty of juries to judge what are the facts, what is the law, and what was the moral intent of the accused; but that it is also their right, and their primary and paramount duty, to judge of the justice of the law, and to hold all laws invalid, that are, in their opinion, unjust or oppressive, and all persons guiltless in violating, or resisting the execution of, such laws.

Then, as far as the Grand Jury, here is what George Edwards, Jr., said in a law review essay (“Grand Juries”) in 1906:

The grand jury is an institution of English-speaking countries, of historic interest by reason of the obscurity surrounding its origin, its gradual development, and the part it has played in some of the most stirring events in the history of the Anglo-Saxon race; of political interest by its effectual protection of the liberty of the subject from the arbitrary power of the government; of legal interest in that its power and action is utterly repugnant to “the experience and theory of English law.” It has been extravagantly praised as the “security of Englishmen’s lives,” the conserver of his liberties, and the noblest check upon the malice and oppression of individuals and states

So, now that we understand what was intended when the Founders passed on these examples of centuries of pursuing justice, by our forefathers, as an assurance against the tendency of those with power to extend their power and reduce the people to subordination to the will of government, let us look at what has happened to these institutions that were intended to provide such security.

The Grand Jury was intended to look in two directions.  First, it was to assure that no person would be held to answer (stand trial) unless there were sufficient reason to believe that he may have committed a crime (probable cause).  Second, it was intended to be a check on government, for those in power were no less capable of committing crimes than the people, and, without the ability to hold those in power accountable, would allow government to transgress on the rights of the people, without any obstacle to forcing complete submission.

Once probable cause was determined, the charges warranted a trial, by peers, to determine if, weighing all of the evidence, a crime had been committed, and, if the law was just.  This jury was in no way excluded from judging those in power.  The most well known example was the trial of those soldiers involved in shooting, and killing, civilians in the infamous “Boston Massacre” (1770).

So, we have a two tiered box in which charges can be brought only by the Grand Jury, in accordance with the Constitution (Fifth Amendment):

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.

This, however, has been subordinated to the current circumstance, that only a district, state, or, US attorney can bring charges against you, with or without a grand jury, and, since they have, contrary to original law, intent and tradition, you cannot present to the Grand Jury a perceived violation of the law by a member of the government, unless, the government, through its attorney, allows such charges to be presented to the Grand Jury.

Once charges are justified (and, in our tradition of law, along with the intent of the Founders, that should include those who work for the government), the trial of the charges is held (as set out in Article II, Section 2, clause 3, and, 6th Amendment, for criminal trials, and the 7th Amendment for Civil trials) by Petit Juries.

As was presented at the beginning of this article, Petit Juries are, by tradition of law and intent of the Founders, judges of both law and fact.  What has happened to Petit Juries, by virtue of enactments by government and rules promulgated by administrative agencies (see Who Makes the Laws?), is that the judge has become the sole arbiter of the case.  He provides instructions to the jury that are ironclad, and assure conviction, rather than allowing the discretion the Jury is supposed to posses, in determining guilt, and the judge absolutely denies the right of the Jury to judge law (as happened to Laura Kriho when she was jailed for holding to her beliefs with regard to the crime, and, punishment associated therewith, while serving on jury duty).

So, the question arises, is there any efficacy to the jury system (box), as intended by the Founders, to be one of our safeguards against an oppressive government, or has the government-usurped authority, which it was never intended to have?

You may also wonder why the supreme Court rules in what appears, quite often, to be contrary to the Constitution, though you may be surprised when you read what that Court has said about making such rulings, as explained in About Ashwander v. TVA.

This, then, leads us to a consideration of that third box, the cartridge box.

The Cartridge Box

As we have seen, and should be quite evident, by now, the government has, by divisive means, corrupted both the Ballot Box and the Jury Box as remedies in safeguarding our freedom,  our Constitution and our way of life.

Can we assume that this third box, that box of last resort, can go unimpaired by the powers that have, so far, managed to make inconsequential the other two?

Let’s begin by looking at what was, some 230 years ago.  Though few were made here, cannon could be bought on the open market, by anyone.  Any weapon available to the military was also available to the citizen.

Over time, however, primarily after the Civil War, the government began “infringing” upon our right to keep and bear arms.  There is no doubt that after the Civil War, they did not want private citizens to own cannon.  The recent carnage and destruction of the just finished war was sufficient, though the government had the additional leverage of near complete domination over the southern states, to begin to restrict ownership of those weapons of war, which were, to that point in time, considered well within the right to keep and bear arms.

In the 1930s, because of the warring between government and anti-prohibition forces (organized crime), laws were passed restricting ownership of automatic rifles (machine guns).  More recently, in the 1990s, prohibition against what the government refers to as “assault rifles” has taken an additional toll on that right which was not to be infringed upon.

Clearly, then, the assault on that final right, that protector of all rights, the Second Amendment, being so necessary to a Free State, is without doubt, being subordinated to the power of government.

It, too, will go the way of the Ballot Box for the election of “representatives of our own chusing”, in favor of selection of the lesser of two evils, laid before us by the two-party system, which now confronts us.

It, too, will go the way of the Jury Box, where the rights that were fought for, and preserved in the Constitution, have become far less than would have been acceptable to those who gave their lives to “secure the blessings of liberty”, by subordination to the government in all aspects of judicial administration.

If we squander our time, hoping that the Cartridge Box will always be available, should the need arise (if it hasn’t, already), we can, most assuredly, understand that absent our commitment to the recovery of those long and established rights, and, the return to Constitutional government, we can only look forward to one more box — made of pine.

About Ashwander v. TVA

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

About Ashwander v. TVA

 

Gary Hunt

Outpost of Freedom

January 9, 2006

 

There has been s lot of discussion about Agencies, immunity, privilege, etc., and much of each argument has merit. So far, however, I haven’t seen any discussion on how the nature of the person and the court is established, and then, by what rules that relationship proceeds.

 

Many years ago, I became aware of what I believe to be the most damning of the Supreme Court decisions – at least, with regard to our liberties (rights, too!). In fact, a few of us coined a term to reflect what had happened when you found yourself without recourse. “Ashwanderized” was the term, and how we got to be Ashwanderized became the subject of study.

 

Before I continue, I will mention an instance where I had forgotten all about this aspect (due to the urgency of the situation, I think) and found myself, and others, beaten by this omission. The Court (Judge Walter Smith) ruled that we “had not exhausted all administrative remedies”, therefore he was denying our Emergency Petition for Writ of Mandamus. Unfortunately, the Bar attorney, acting in a non-bar capacity, was not versed on this matter and it did not occur to me. We pondered what remedies we had failed to pursue, and it wasn’t until it was too late that it occurred to me that we had not taken precautions against this eventuality.

 

I have, however, understanding Ashwander, managed to use Habeas Corpus to remove myself from jurisdiction. This came to me one evening, facing court the next morning, while pondering the question, “How do I get myself into Common Law jurisdiction? I realized that it was not Common Law that I wanted to get into, rather it was Common Law that I wanted to get out of.

 

That aside, for now, below are the seven (7) rules developed by the Supreme Court in dealing with Ashwander v. T.V.A. [297 U.S. 288 (1936)]. Though all are damning, to a degree, with regard to the current subject, pay particular attention to #4 and #6.

 

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“The Court developed, for its own governance in the cases confessedly within its jurisdiction, a series of rules under which it has avoided passing upon a large part of all the constitutional questions pressed upon it for decision.

 

They are:

 

“1. The Court will not pass upon the constitutionality of legislation in a friendly, nonadversary, proceeding, declining because to decide such questions ‘is legitimate only in the last resort, and as a necessity in the determination of real, earnest, and vital controversy between individuals…

 

“2. The Court will not ‘anticipate a question of constitutional law in advance of the necessity of deciding it… ‘It is not the habit of the court to decide questions of a constitutional nature unless absolutely necessary to a decision of the case…

 

“3. The Court will not formulate a rule of constitutional law broader than is required by the precise facts to which it is to be applied….

 

“4. The Court will not pass upon a constitutional question although properly presented by the record, if there is also present some other ground upon which the case may be disposed of. This rule has found most varied application. Thus, if a case can be decided on either of two grounds, one involving a constitutional question, the other a question of statutory construction or general law, the Court will decide only the latter… Appeals from the highest court of a state challenging its decision of a question under the Federal Constitution are frequently dismissed because the judgment can be sustained on an independent state ground…

 

“5. The Court will not pass upon the validity of a statute upon complaint of one who fails to show that he is injured by its operation… Among the many applications of this rule, none is more striking than the denial of the right of challenge to one who lacks a personal or property right…

 

“6. The Court will not pass upon the constitutionality of a statute at the instance of one who has availed himself of its benefits…

 

“7. ‘When the validity of an act of the Congress is drawn in question, and even if a serious doubt of constitutionality is raised, it is a cardinal principle that this Court will first ascertain whether a construction of the statute is fairly possible by which the question may be avoided…

* * *

 

It would appear that a public servant, who felt that his duties violated the Constitution, could not get the Court to make a determination as to the Constitutionality of that duty. For example, if one of Hitler’s SS troops felt that he was being told to do something that he perceived as a violation of the Constitution, he would have no standing to ask the Court for a determination. He would be compelled, by law, to “just do his job”. (Number 5)

 

Once a person seeks a benefit from an agency (Social Security, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Motor Vehicles, Welfare, Child Protective Services, etc.), he is no longer protected by the Constitution, for the supreme Court will rule that, since he has availed himself of its benefits, he is bound by that agency’s rules (number 6)

 

The First Amendment, Bill of Rights: “Congress shall make no law respecting … the right of the people peaceably … to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

In effect, the Court has removed itself as a means of ‘redress of grievances, by allowing itself to ‘rule’ that they will not answer questions regarding the Constitutionality of laws, enactments, or rules promulgated by agencies (whether in violation of the Constitution, or not).

 

 

If you read the entire case, you will see that it hinges on Administrative Agencies. Basically, if anybody has sought a benefit from an Administrative Agency, they have developed a relationship with the agency. In so doing, it has accepted the rules (statutory construction or general law, see #4) that the agency has adopted. This allows the court to sidestep reviewing the Constitutionality of the matter (see #6).

It should be easy, after reading the above, to begin to understand what has happened to “privileges and immunities.” They are still there, though they are difficult to find.

 

Gary Hunt,

Outpost of Freedom

http://www.outpost-of-freedom.com

 

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post referred to at:

 

http://www.Thedailybell.com/1234/Ron-Holland-Back-To-the-Articles.html

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